Category Archives: music

Former Nirvana members Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl have said they are “dismayed and very disappointed” at how Kurt Cobain is used in a video game. They do not agree that the band’s late frontman can be used to play songs by other artists in the new Guitar Hero.

In a joint statement, they said they “didn’t know” Cobain’s character in the game could be used to play any kind of song the player wants. Game makers Activision said permission had been granted by Cobain’s estate. Legal action The company said Cobain’s widow, Courtney Love, had provided a written agreement which allowed the singer’s likeness as a fully playable character in the fifth game of the series. Along with the two Nirvana hits, Smells Like Teen Spirit and Lithium, Cobain’s character can also be selected to play 85 tracks by other artists.

“While we were aware of Kurt’s image being used with two Nirvana songs, we didn’t know players have the ability to unlock the character,” said Novoselic and Grohl. “This feature allows the character to be used with any kind of song the player wants. We urge Activision to do the right thing in ‘re-locking’ Kurt’s character so that this won’t continue in the future.”

Love has also criticised the game on Twitter and has threatened to sue Activision. The star said she “never signed” off the game and claimed, “there’s been four breaches of a very strict contract”. She added: “This trust are my employees, but whatthey [sic] are tryong [sic] to do is sickening, and they need to be fired, and repairations [sic] need made.”